Colson

Montgomery

Montgomery is considered not just one of the top prospects in the Chicago system, but one of the best shortstop prospects in the sport. He did struggle in 2024 however with just a .710 OPS in Triple-A, but there’s still big-time upside in his bat. Carela has a chance to make starts in 2024 after reaching Double-A and forging a 3.71 ERA over 23 starts.

The single that produced the run was hit weakly, but his other two balls in play both left his bat at 106 mph. Montgomery is thus far 8-for-20 with a homer and a 1/9 K/BB ratio for Phoenix. He’s not facing great pitching, but it’s still tremendous that a guy who struck out 164 times in Triple-A this year has done so just once in 31 plate appearances in the AFL.

This might be the hottest the White Sox’s (former?) No. 1 prospect has been all season. By month, he’s posted OPSs of .682, .768, .669, .657 and .667 before starting off September here at 1.250. It’s probably too late to get him a callup now, but just ending on an encouraging note here would be big after such a dreary season.

It’s a star-studded lineup with several of the top fantasy prospects in the game featured alongside Basallo. The 19-year-old burgeoning slugger has morphed into one of the premier dynasty hitters in the fantasy landscape last year, and has backed it up this season in the upper minors, batting .274/.338/.449 with 12 homers and seven steals through 75 games for Double-A Bowie. Here’s the full lineup: Max Clark CF, Cole Young 2B, Sebastian Walcott SS, Basallo C, Spencer Jones RF, Xavier Isaac 1B, Colson Montgomery 3B, Jaison Chourio LF and Harry Ford DH.

Montgomery got off to a slow start this season at the dish, but has heated up considerably in recent days, batting .267 (8-for-30) with three homers in nine games since the start of May. He’s unquestionably Chicago’s shortstop of the future, but the organization has zero incentive to rush him to the majors. He’s going to get some extra seasoning at the Triple-A level, but figures to arrive in the big leagues at some point this summer.

Montgomery’s eighth-inning round-tripper came off former White Sox reliever Declan Cronin and was his first big fly of the season. The 22-year-old top prospect is viewed as Chicago’s shortstop of the future, but with the big-league club struggling at the outset of the year, there isn’t much incentive to rush him to the majors. He’ll continue to get some extra seasoning at Triple-A Charlotte, but could make his debut at some point this summer.

Shewmake was considered the favorite to land a spot on Chicago’s bench as a backup infielder, which likely opens the door for someone like non-roster invitee Danny Mendick to make the season-opening roster. It wouldn’t make sense for the club to go with top prospect Colson Montgomery as they want him playing everyday, which will happen back at Triple-A Charlotte to open the season.

Montgomery is the future at shortstop for the White Sox and is a huge on-base percentage asset with a .410 OBP with 123 walks through 186 minor league games. He’s currently the 9th-ranked prospect in MLB Pipeline and could be up in Chicago by the summer.

Anderson receives a $1 million buyout and becomes a free agent on the heels of a career-worst season in which he finished with a subterranean .245/.286/.296 triple-slash line with just one homer and 13 stolen bases across 524 plate appearances over 123 games. The 30-year-old shortstop’s multi-year track record of near-elite five-category fantasy production means it’s too early to dismiss entirely the possibility of a bounce-back campaign, especially since he’ll be getting a much-needed change of scenery. However, the complete erosion of his over-the-fence pop, in addition to some unexpected batting average decline this past season, represent major red flags. He’s a borderline top-15 shortstop for fantasy purposes at this juncture. Meanwhile, the Colson Montgomery era appears to be drawing near in Chicago.

Montgomery is now hitting 256/.289/.535 through 45 plate appearances in the AFL. While the average hasn’t bene high, Montgomery is a huge on-base percentage asset with a .410 OBP with 123 walks through 186 minor league games. The 17th-ranked prospect in MLB Pipeline figures to start the 2024 season at Double-A but could be in Chicago by the summer.